The present invention relates in general to a corkscrew and in particular to a corkscrew adapted to pierce into a cork and extract it from a bottle by way of a single corkscrew motion.
Corkscrews are known in the prior art. A conventional type of corkscrew comprises an elongated metal screw and a transverse handle connected to one end of the screw. One disadvantage of this kind of corkscrew is that no support means or abutment means is provided on the corkscrew to position same against a bottle. Another disadvantage is that the screw is not covered by any means whatsoever rendering the corkscrew rather unsafe to use. Furthermore, even if the screw is safely and correctly driven into a cork, extracting the cork from the bottle is a difficult task. It requires a user to exercise a considerable amount of force on the handle in order to pull the cork out from the bottle.
Another type of corkscrew consists basically of a brace, a leverage assembly operatively associated with the brace and a screw connected to the leverage assembly. Operation of this type of corkscrew involves pulling the lever by one hand, or, some cases, both hands. In the case where two hands are required to manipulate the lever, the bottle is left unsecured giving rise to a hazardous situation where the bottle may be out of balance. In the case where only one hand is needed to operate the lever sparing the other hand to hold the bottle in position, operation of this kind of corkscrew involves quite a number of steps. It takes skill to operate and, as such, an infrequent user may find it troublesome, if not difficult to use.
GB-2027681B discloses a corkscrew comprising a housing, engageable over the neck of a bottle, and a member, like a conventional type corkscrew, comprising a screw with a transverse handle. The member is axially slidably engageable in a sleeve in the housing as the screw penetrates a cork by rotation of the handle. The handle and the housing have abutment surfaces which limit the axial movement, so that continued rotation in the same direction causes the cork to ride up the screw into the housing.
In order to remove the cork from the screw, the housing is made flexible for the cork to be gripped by squeezing the housing while the handle is rotated.
This construction has several disadvantages. The housing and the screw are separable, so that one of the parts may be lost or displaced and the screw is exposed, so that there is risk of injury. Removal of the cork from the screw is not easy, since a tight grip of the cork through the housing is necessitated.
The present invention overcomes the problems experienced in the prior art.